Michael Dunn
04-26-2010, 8:16 PM
Hey guys,
I haven't used these yet, but here is a quick review just from handling them. I just bought the Master Force (Menards house brand) Ultra Compact 3/8" cordless drill & impact driver combo for $99.
Overall they seem surprisingly well built, lightweight and compact. Included with the purchase is 2 batteries a 30 minute charger and of course the two drivers. As I said before, they are lightweight, yet not 'cheap-o' lightweight. They have a good amount of weight to them for being so small.
They are made of a seemingly durable injection molded plastic with a nice rubber comfort grip. I say seemingly because they have yet to fall of off my bench on to the hard concrete floor. But they soon will...
Both tools have an electronic brake and LED's that shut off once the trigger is released (the LED's, not the brake;). The cordless has drill an 18 position clutch, two speeds and a single handed keyless chuck.
The impact driver has a 1/4" quick connect hex collet. The impact driver delivers 800 in. lbs. of torque, 0-2,200 RPM and 0-2,700 BPM.
The charger is a genuine 30 min charger. It went from, out of the box to full charge in just under 30 minutes. We'll soon see juts how long that charge will last under a work load.
Tonight have have to install a cabinet that I built. It's not too big of a job. I am gonns sink some 2 1/2" screws through the mounting cleat into the studs.
So far, just from handling them the only 'cons' I can see are as follows...
1. The cordless has about a 100 milli-second delay before the motor engages once the trigger is pulled.
2. The forward/reverse switch on the cordless drill is quite stiff. This may change with time, the impact drivers switch feels just fine.
I have reasonable expections for this purchase. I do not expect them to last a lifetime. However, I do take very good care of all of my tools, so you never know... I don't expect them to tackle large projects. Say, like building a large deck. (I may give it shot this summer, I need to rebuild my deck. It is fairly small though, approx 10' x 25', we'll see...) I bought this set simply for getting a decent amount of power into a small area. I just built some shop cabinets that could have REALLY benefites from these.
Even without using them on a project yet, I would recommend them to any woodworker.
Thanx,
shotgunn
I haven't used these yet, but here is a quick review just from handling them. I just bought the Master Force (Menards house brand) Ultra Compact 3/8" cordless drill & impact driver combo for $99.
Overall they seem surprisingly well built, lightweight and compact. Included with the purchase is 2 batteries a 30 minute charger and of course the two drivers. As I said before, they are lightweight, yet not 'cheap-o' lightweight. They have a good amount of weight to them for being so small.
They are made of a seemingly durable injection molded plastic with a nice rubber comfort grip. I say seemingly because they have yet to fall of off my bench on to the hard concrete floor. But they soon will...
Both tools have an electronic brake and LED's that shut off once the trigger is released (the LED's, not the brake;). The cordless has drill an 18 position clutch, two speeds and a single handed keyless chuck.
The impact driver has a 1/4" quick connect hex collet. The impact driver delivers 800 in. lbs. of torque, 0-2,200 RPM and 0-2,700 BPM.
The charger is a genuine 30 min charger. It went from, out of the box to full charge in just under 30 minutes. We'll soon see juts how long that charge will last under a work load.
Tonight have have to install a cabinet that I built. It's not too big of a job. I am gonns sink some 2 1/2" screws through the mounting cleat into the studs.
So far, just from handling them the only 'cons' I can see are as follows...
1. The cordless has about a 100 milli-second delay before the motor engages once the trigger is pulled.
2. The forward/reverse switch on the cordless drill is quite stiff. This may change with time, the impact drivers switch feels just fine.
I have reasonable expections for this purchase. I do not expect them to last a lifetime. However, I do take very good care of all of my tools, so you never know... I don't expect them to tackle large projects. Say, like building a large deck. (I may give it shot this summer, I need to rebuild my deck. It is fairly small though, approx 10' x 25', we'll see...) I bought this set simply for getting a decent amount of power into a small area. I just built some shop cabinets that could have REALLY benefites from these.
Even without using them on a project yet, I would recommend them to any woodworker.
Thanx,
shotgunn